Vancouver's Said The Whale has been on a steady upward trajectory for the past six years, as relentless touring and a prolific string of releases have led to successes including a JUNO Award in 2011 for New Group of the Year and nationally charting singles. In 2013, the tireless five-piece — which includes dual songwriters Tyler Bancroft and Ben Worcester, drummer Spencer Schoening, keyboardist Jaycelyn Brown and bassist Nathan Shaw — will continue to break down doors by releasing its most adventurous and hook-filled batch of songs yet. The band formed in early 2007 and, following some early EPs, released the debut-full length Howe Sounds/Taking Abalonia in 2008. Said The Whale began to amass a grassroots following through frequent tours, and they scored a string of Canadian radiosuccesses with the albums Islands Disappear (2009) and Little Mountain (2012). Thesealbums earned attention from media outlets like Spin, BBC 6 Music, and Consequence ofSound, and the band was profiled in the nationally televised CBC documentary WinningAmerica. Said The Whale were nominated for two more JUNO Awards in 2013 for AlternativeAlbum of the Year and Recording Package of the Year (alongside art director Andy Dixon) forHaving already released the three-song I Love You EP on June 4, the band are keeping withtheir inexhaustible work ethic, announcing their latest full-length album hawaiii is set forrelease on September 17, 2013, on Hidden Pony Records. Intentionally using a lower-case ‘h’and ending in a trifecta of ‘i’s’ the band wanted to put some distance and distinction betweenthe sun-filled U.S. State, so far from their Vancouver, BC home base.
The album title also mirrors the different way Said The Whale assembled this new album.
Singer/songwriter Tyler Bancroft noted: “Instead of booking a solid block of time to record theentire album, we did it in short bursts over a period of six months. The time in betweensessions allowed us to reflect on what we'd recorded, to tour and road-test some of theThe twelve track album has already seen first single and EP namesake “I Love You” becomethe biggest song at radio the band has had to date in Canada and the U.S. “I Love You” iscurrently being played at over 30 stations coast-to-coast in the U.S. It’s achieved #1 Phonesand is in POWER Rotation at the influential station KNRK in Portland as well as solid rotationat Sirius’ “Alt Nation,” Seattle’s KNDD (the End), and Live 105 in San Francisco. “I Love You”has seen unprecedented love at Canadian radio having held the #3 spot at MediabaseAlternative Rock for over 5 weeks and is currently being played on The Edge, The Peak, TheShore, Sonic, The Zone, Live 105 Halifax and more – it’s spanning the country – and thevideo for the track is just seeing finishing touches will be released soon.
With hawaiii, the band return to long-time collaborator Tom Dobrzanski (The Zolas, We AreThe City) with band member Tyler Bancroft stepping up into the role of co-producer. Therecord was mixed by Gus Van Go and Werner F (Stills, Rah Rah). The new material waspenned in a surge of creativity that found Bancroft and Worcester letting their guard down andfollowing their instincts. "My songs on this album are the most vulnerable songs I've everwritten," notes Bancroft. "Lyrically it's the most honest I've ever been."
The signature sun-filled, hook-heavy vocal harmonies Said The Whale are known so well for,prevail over the album's tracklisting, but alongside a notable sense of darker, serious subjectmatter and self-reflection. From the Ben Worcester lead vocals on album-closer “The Weightof the Season” to Bancroft’s heavy-hearted tribute to his mother and how he, as an adult,comes to grips with an aging parent, on “Helpless Son.” The up-tempo numbers abound with“Mother” and “On The Ropes” as well as the dreamy new sounds on tracks like “Resolutions.”The band, as any great band does, continues to evolve. hawaiii is the sound of a bandalready on the top of its game breaking free from all expectations and boldly reinventing its hawaiii – Out September 17, 2013 (on Hidden Pony Records)

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Said the Whale

Said The Whale formed in 2007 as a collaboration between songwriters Ben Worcester and Tyler Bancroft. The pair's debut EP, Taking Abalonia, featured sunny west coast indie pop, with breezy harmonies, shimmering guitars, and lyrical tributes to their home city of Vancouver. In 2008, the album was rereleased as Howe Sounds/Talking Abalonia, featurin... more info